Being an entrepreneur is the latest hot trend amongst people entering or currently in the stagnate job market. Entrepreneurship is seen as the gateway to freedom, better finances and an overall more rewarding form of work. People associate entrepreneurship with flexibility and the ability to produce exponential riches, which fuels the elevated interest in pursuing its path. Unfortunately though, the reality of such successes are small compared to the relative average existence that a majority of entrepreneurs experience. This fad though is being fed off the perception that following in the path of entrepreneurship will make you instantly rich and enable you to live the lifestyle of Richard Branson or P. Diddy. That is why when things get tougher than expected and the lifestyle becomes more consuming than expected; people bail out with the quickness.
The reason this is so important to cover is because misconceptions about the reality of entrepreneurship has to be explained to those naive to its true nature. I say this because you cannot have an employee mindset or lazy mentality when trying to pursue the entrepreneur lifestyle. Lifestyle is the word to highlight because entrepreneurship is a lifestyle not a job; it is something that cannot be turned on and off whenever you feel like it. The saying is that the traditional job market is a rat race well entrepreneurship can be described as the triathlon. How many people can actually successfully participate in a triathlon? Not many, so if entrepreneurship is comparable to a triathlon how many people can prove to be up to the task? Not surprisingly far less than the large sums of people who choose to take up the challenge.
This is why I question the legitimacy of the increased entries within the entrepreneurial field. I believe most people want to be associated with the mystique of entrepreneurship rather than actually have serious attentions of developing sustainable products and services. Entrepreneurs are now being seen as the uninhibited trailblazers who play by their own rules and follow no else’s lead. This makes people gravitate towards it because they believe they can do absolutely as they please which is not entirely true. Having people who are solely focused on the image of entrepreneurship and not on the value of their products and services produces negative effects within the entrepreneurial community. This attitude taints the credibility of aspiring entrepreneurs or better phrased provokes suspicion about the true motives of their business endeavors. The individuals just riding the fad make it difficult for the serious entrepreneurs because entrepreneurship is like a fashion show to them; it is just about being seen and noticed at the moment. In turn the marketplace reacts with skepticism after being introduced to numerous entrepreneurs who never follow through on what they proclaim to offer. It creates a lose-lose situation. Nothing is gained from being a bullshitter who tries to continuously fake it till they miraculously make it.
For those individuals who are just embracing the fad you will not last very long. Being an entrepreneur is a challenging conquest to pursue so if you are not truly committed to it why even bother with it? Do not waste yours and other’s time by just playing entrepreneur, there are too many other people who are serious about living this lifestyle. This is like a fraternity and we are not accepting of outsiders who violate what we work so hard for to build and cultivate. If you are just following the fad go work for a startup and experience the environment of entrepreneurship before taking the plunge head on. Do not take it as me denying anyone’s ambition; it is just important that the real job creators and innovators are given the opportunity to develop and grow without being crowded out by those who are just playing.
